Srimad Bhagavatam — Chaturtha Skandha, Shloka 46
The Fall of Purañjana and the Supersoul as the Eternal Friend
Purañjana-Upākhyāna Culmination
यदा नोपलभेताङ्घ्रावूष्माणं पत्युरर्चती । आसीत्संविग्नहृदया यूथभ्रष्टा मृगी यथा ॥ ४६ ॥
yadā nopalabhetāṅghrāv ūṣmāṇaṁ patyur arcatī āsīt saṁvigna-hṛdayā yūtha-bhraṣṭā mṛgī yathā
While she was serving her husband by massaging his legs, she could feel that his feet were no longer warm and could thus understand that he had already passed from the body. She felt great anxiety upon being left alone. Bereft of her husband’s company, she felt exactly as the deer feels upon being separated from its mate.
As soon as the circulation of blood and air within the body stops, it is to be understood that the soul within the body has left. The stoppage of the blood’s circulation is perceived when the hands and feet lose heat. One tests whether a body is alive or not by feeling the heart’s palpitations and the coldness of the feet and hands.
FAQs
It describes the wife’s sudden anxiety when she realizes her husband’s life has departed—symbolizing the jīva’s distress when worldly shelter collapses and attachment is exposed.
The comparison highlights vulnerability and fear that arise from dependence; in the allegory it points to the conditioned soul’s insecurity when separated from familiar material supports.
Recognize the fragility of worldly relationships and cultivate steadiness through bhakti—placing one’s ultimate shelter in Bhagavān rather than in temporary bodily ties.